The Mentalist: Voice in the Phone
by Alasse Fefalas
Summary: Spoilers for the season 6 promo. Jane tried to call Lisbon, but another voice answers on the other side. Based on the last scene in the promo.
1. Voice in the Phone

**Voice in the phone**

By Alasse Fefalas

Jane flipped his phone open irritatedly. Punching in the number he had long ago memorized into his mobile, Jane ran a hand through his hair exasperatedly. Seriously, Lisbon could overreact sometimes. Leaving him behind in the desert was totally uncalled for. Not during a case as important as this.

The tone rang four times before it was answered. "Lisbon, come on. Pick me up."

The other side of the phone left no answer to Jane's complaint. Frowning, Jane spoke with a concerned note in his voice, "Lisbon you there?"

"Sorry Patrick, Teresa can't come to the phone right now."

Jane's breath was caught in his throat. No air could penetrate his lungs. His mind blanked for a moment when he heard the same voice that taunts him ever since his family was murdered. Fear gripped him, eating its way into his very being. There was no way that Red John had Lisbon. Not a chance. No. Every single fibre of his body denied what was presented to him. He felt his entire world crash.

No, not Lisbon.

"Red John," Jane finally said, his voice dripping with venom.

"Yes," the voice replied, in the manner that it always did: cock-sure and confident, yet still polite. "I'm afraid Teresa won't be able to pick you up. She's a little preoccupied right now."

"Where's Lisbon?" Jane asked through gritted teeth. He was so stupid. He didn't think Red John would go after Lisbon so early in the final stage of this game.

"Oh, she's fine. A little cramped, but fine. You're right, I wouldn't have gone after dear Teresa so early, but she was getting too close."

"No!"

"Goodbye Patrick."

The line went dead. The single note tone was deafening in his ear. In his mind's eye, it was the same tone as the heart beat monitor attached to the body of a bloody petite brunette. A flat line. Shaking his head violently to clear the image of Lisbon's dead body out of his mind, Jane snapped his phone shut.

No, he could not lose focus right now. Lisbon needed him. She NEEDED him. Steeling himself, Jane flipped his phone open, ready to do whatever it took to get his Saint Teresa back from the crazed mass murderer.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading! This was supposed to be a one-shot, but there is some room for another chapter, I feel. What do you think? Keep it as a one-shot? Or continue?


	2. Cut Off

**Chapter 2: Cut off**

By Alasse Fefalas

Jane held his breath as the line rang. Mentally, he counted the number of rings. One, two, three, four, five -

"Hello?" A female voice answered on the other side of the line.

Jane breathed a sigh of relief. Keeping his voice steady, he asked, "Van Pelt, where are you?"

"I'm at HQ. Sorry we left you behind. Lisbon was fuming. I didn't think she would actually leave you there by yourself," Van Pelt apologized.

"It's fine. Have you seen Lisbon? I can't seem to reach her on her phone," Jane said, his voice light and nonchalant but his jaw tight.

"She got a call from Director Bertram a while ago. He wanted to see her in his office downtown."

"Did she go alone?"

"The Director wanted to see only her, so she said she'll go alone."

"That idiot!" Jane half-screamed into the phone. His agitation had reached a new high. Pacing back and forth across the room, Jane growled at himself. How could she have gone alone? She should have brought Van Pelt or either of the boys along, but no. The brave Lisbon, unwilling to endanger any of her team members, went into the lion's den alone. Brave, but stupid.

"Jane, what's wrong?" Van Pelt asked, alarmed.

"Lisbon..." Jane trailed, at a loss of words. He didn't know how to say it. In the end, he decided to be straightforward. "Red John has Lisbon."

"What? Are you sure?" Van Pelt's voice had gone an octave higher.

"Positive," Jane said, resting against a wall, tired out from his pacing. "He was the one who answered her phone."

"I'll get the guys to pick you up," Van Pelt said curtly before hanging up the call.

Jane sighed. Lisbon could be anywhere in Sacramento, if Red John hadn't already brought her out of the county. At the worst, she could be anywhere in the state. He dreaded to think what would happen to her if she wasn't still in Sacramento, or even California.

Flipping his phone open again, he dialled Lisbon's number, in the barest hope that Red John would answer and do a little one-to-one exchange of persons. He knew that would never happen, but he had to hope. A fool's hope, but still, it was hope.

Silence.

"Come on, ring, dammit," Jane pleaded into the phone.

A single tone played and it went to voicemail, "Agent Teresa Lisbon, Serious Crimes Unit. Leave a message."

Jane listened to her voice, blood drained from his face. Red John had switched Lisbon's phone off. His only means of contact to her was gone.

* * *

A/N: Alright, on the insistence of you guys, I decided to continue it! I've no idea where it's going to lead, so it'll be an adventure for you, my dear readers, and for me as well! Thank you for all the follows/favs/reviews! I hope you enjoyed this (really, really short, I'm so sorry...) chapter! Thanks for reading!


	3. Search

**Chapter 3: Search**

By Alasse Fefalas

"Jane."

Jane snapped his head up upon hearing his name being called. Looking up, he saw two suited men staring at him. Glancing away, guilt washed over him as he stood up from his rocky perch by the roadside and walked over to the Suburban that was parked slightly off the road, taking residence in the back seat mutely.

"Van Pelt said Red John has Lisbon. Is that true?" Cho asked with a deadpan face, but Jane could hear the tightness in his voice.

Jane looked at each of the men in turn before nodding his head.

"How are we going to find her? This is Red John we're talking about. When he took Christina Frye, it took us so long to find her, and even then, she wasn't in the right state of mind," Rigsby said worriedly.

Jane winced at the mention of Christina's name. Yet another woman he had failed to protect. All these people were hurting because of him and his stupid game with Red John.

"Jane." Jane looked at Cho glumly at the call of his name. The man who normally showed no emotion now wore a mask of anger on his face, surprising Jane slightly. "Stop sinking into where ever you go whenever we deal with Red John. We need you to be at the top of your game here. This is Lisbon we're talking about. She's a fighter, but we still have to find her."

Jane stared at the Asian man, who glared at him. Shaking his head, Jane's eyes steeled. Cho was right. He had to be at the top of his game. He had to believe that they would be able to find Lisbon in time.

"We need to get Grace on the phone," Jane said.

Nodding, Cho grabbed the wheel and started driving as Rigsby dialled Van Pelt's number. She picked up in two rings.

"Grace, I need you to give us the location of Lisbon's car," Jane said.

"Okay, give me a minute," Van Pelt said. The three men listened to the tapping of keys, hoping for a ray of hope they could find thr car. "Found it! It's..."

"Yes?" Jane urged.

"Well, I don't know whether it's correct or not, but it says here, Lisbon's car is still here at CBI."

"Try tracking her phone," Jane suggested, his voice tight.

"Yeah, I've been trying that for the past half hour but I can't seem to get a trace on it. It's switched off."

"Dammit!" Jane shouted, slamming his fist down against the seat of the car.

"So what do we do?" Rigsby asked.

"City hall. We have to get to City Hall," Jane answered. "Lisbon was supposed to have a meeting with Bertram there."

"Hey, guys," Van Pelt's voice came from the phone. "I tracked Bertram's phone and car... and it's here at the CBI."

Jane looked at Rigsby in alarm, who only looked at him with a confused face. He put his hand on Cho's shoulder, who simply nodded. "Grace, we're on the way."

"I'll keep an eye out," Van Pelt said before dropping the call.

"Hey, what was all that about?" Rigsby asked, confused.

Jane looked at Rigsby and sighed. "I have a list," he said as Rigsby nodded, expecting him to continue. "Bertram is one of the seven on that list."

"Does Grace know about the list?"

"Yes, Lisbon told her, even though I explicitly told her not to. They've been listening to the calls from the seven for a while now."

"And you never told us because...?"

"Because of the same reason I told Lisbon not to tell anyone. The more people who knows about the list, the less chance there is to catch him," Jane said, anger rising in him. He didn't have to defend his actions. The team know how he was about Red John, and he would let no one get between him and his revenge.

"So whoever Red John is, he is on the list?"

"Yes."

"Who are the rest?" Cho asked.

"That's not important right now. What's important is that Bertram is on the list and he's in the CBI headquarters. Lisbon was supposed to meet him at City Hall, but her car is at the CBI. The question now is, did they meet at the headquarters or at City Hall? Did they even meet at all?" Jane thought out loud.

"We'll find out soon enough. We're here," Cho said, pulling up in front of the headquarters.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for disappearing for a long time! Was having a writer's block! Totally had no idea how to continue it. This isn't a very long chapter, but I hope it will do. I'm in the midst of writing the next chapter, which will probably be either the last or second last, not sure which yet. Thank you for all the reviews/follows/favourites. Most of all, thank you for reading!


	4. Found

**Chapter 4: Found**

"That's her car," Rigsby said, pointing out the black suburban with Lisbon's license plate on it. Nodding in acknowledgement, Cho parked the car in front of Lisbon's vehicle, which was parked head first.

"Grace's computer thingy was right," Jane said, shaking his head. "If her car is here, where is she then?"

"We'll check her car first," Cho said, pulling out his gun as he hopped out of the vehicle. Rigsby followed suit.

Trepidation filled Jane as the three of them approached the car. Letting the other two lead, he peered into the tinted back window of the car, trying to catch a glimpse of the inside. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he shook his head to Cho and Rigsby, who nodded in reply. Jane clenched his hands as the two grabbed the door handle on either side of the vehicle and pulled.

Unlocked, the car door opened easily. A figure slid out, hanging out as Cho opened his side of the door. Rushing over, Jane shook his head slightly as he saw the face.

Bertram. There were multiple cuts on the body, including one long slice at the neck. There was no way he could be alive.

"He's dead," Cho confirmed as he took his hands off Bertram's wrist.

"Well, that rules him out of your list, eh, Jane?" Rigsby chuckled humourlessly.

"Yeah..." Jane trailed, staring at the body of the CBI director. "But didn't Van Pelt say they traced his phone AND his car here?"

"Yeah, she did," Cho nodded in affirmation.

"So what's he doing in Lisbon's car?" Rigsby asked, voicing the obvious.

Taking out his phone, Jane dialled Van Pelt's number, who picked it up in a single ring. "Van Pelt, what's Bertram's car number?"

"Wait, let me check... 5QJY391. It's a..."

"Silver BMW," Jane interrupted when he saw the Director's car parked beside Lisbon's.

"Yeah, you found it?" Van Pelt asked anxiously.

"It's parked right beside Lisbon's Suburban," Jane said.

"And Director Bertram?"

"Dead," Jane told her, glancing at the body that was hanging out of the car. "In Lisbon's car."

"Huh?"

"Exactly. We'll meet you upstairs."

Flipping his phone close, he looked at the two men. "There's a chance Lisbon is inside the CBI."

* * *

"Is it possible to track Bertram's phone to its exact location?" Jane asked softly in a nonchalant way, hoping to avoid attention from the rest of the detectives in the Serious Crimes Unit. He was bent down beside Van Pelt, staring at her screen, trying to make something of the various words, icons and windows unfamiliar to a non-technical person.

"No, the closest we can track it is to the building, which points to here," Van Pelt replied, shaking her head in exasperation.

Jane stood up and dragged his chair over, joining the other two men who were already seated around her table.

"What about the rest of the people on the list?" Cho asked.

"I've tried that already, but it seems that they're too far from here to have had any involvement."

"Are you sure it's Red John?" Rigsby asked, looking at Jane.

"Yes, I'm sure. There was no mistaking it. I feel his involvement," Jane nodded seriously, ignoring the skeptical look on Rigsby's face. "Red John would have known that we would be tracking his phone. He's not that careless. I wouldn't trust any of the locations of the other six."

"He's probably using a burner cell anyway," Van Pelt said, trying to avoid an argument between Jane and Rigsby.

"That's true," Cho agreed. He looked from Rigsby to Jane with a deadpan face, daring them to argue at such a critical moment.

"It's my fault," Van Pelt said quietly as she glanced away. "I was the one who traced their phones."

"Under Lisbon's orders," Jane reminded her.

"Even so, I let Lisbon go see Bertram alone, even though he was on the list," Van Pelt said guiltily.

"Grace," Rigsby started, but was cut off.

"It's not your fault, Grace. If you had gone with her, we would be searching for two members of the team, not just one," Jane said, his eyes softening as he patted her shoulder. "If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. I didn't think Red John would go after her this early."

"Jane..." Van Pelt trailed, her lips quivering at the man's devastated face.

"It doesn't make sense. I could have sworn he would have wanted to make this 'game' of his longer."

The four sat in silence around Van Pelt's table, thinking. Jane closed his eyes, retreating into his mind palace. Phrases wandered through his mind, pictures of moments that he had engraved into his memory surfaced. Red John's last message, his and Lisbon's argument, the DVD with Lorelei listing the suspects, of Red John changing the rules.

Changing the rules.

The rules between Red John and himself may have changed, but it didn't change the fact that Red John loved to torment him. Jane's eyes snapped open as he sprang up from his seat, startling the other three.

Jane walked towards the lift lobby as he explained to the other three who fell into step behind him, "She's not in her office, we've already checked. Red John wants to torment me, even though he's changed the rules. If Lisbon's in the CBI, there's only one place he would bring her."

"The attic," Cho stated.

"Correct," Jane said.

The four of them rushed up the stairs that led up to the attic Jane had taken residence in. Leading the pack, Jane ignored the rustle behind him as the other three unholstered their weapons. Behind him didn't matter. The closed door before him did. Jane grabbed the lock and examined it. It looked untampered, but there was no way to be sure until it was examined thoroughly. Digging through his jacket, he took out the key to his attic and unlocked it. Taking a deep breath, Jane slid the door open.

There, on the window, clearly seen in the bright light of the afternoon, was Red John's signature smiley. His breath was stuck in his throat. Forcing his eyes right, Jane gasped. Sprawled on the makeshift bed was Lisbon, drenched in blood.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for the reviews/follows/favourites! Thanks for reading!


	5. Phone Call

**Chapter 5: Phone Call**

By Alasse Fefalas

Jane felt his blood turn to ice. It was a sight he had always envisioned in his mind's eye, but to see Lisbon in front of him like that, not in his mind but in the physical world, his whole body shook. It was just like before, when he found the bodies of his wife and child in his house.

"Jane? Is she in there?" Rigsby called out from behind him.

Jane wanted to close the door, turn around, say no. Spare them the image that had now burned into his mind. He wanted to do something, anything but he couldn't move. His legs were rooted to the spot; His voice, lost in the shock. Jane felt the door slipping from his grasp and his head snapped to the right. He watched helplessly as Cho slid the door open to its fullest, revealing the gruesome sight of the woman in the room.

"Oh my god... Lisbon," Jane heard Van Pelt gasp beside him.

Rigsby caught Van Pelt before she hit the ground, her white face streaking tears. Cho had retreated behind the wall, eyes shut tight, hands clenched to his sides.

"No, Lisbon," Jane breathed. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Forcing himself to concentrate on relaxing, he willed his body to move. Step by agonizing step, he moved closer to the petite body on the thin mattress. He stared at her blood streaked face, soft and peaceful. Cupping it, he closed his damp eyes and rested his forehead on hers.

And then he felt it. The light breath she released. Tensing up, he went very still. Lisbon released another breath. No, he didn't imagine it. Lisbon was alive.

Standing up straight, he placed two fingers at her neck, searching for a pulse. The skin under his fingers jumped weakly and erratically, but it was still beating. Quickly, he cupped the long, thin gash on her neck but the blood had long stopped flowing. It just a surface scratch. He checked the rest of her, noticing the long deep cut on her chest was still bleeding bleeding slightly. Grabbing the piece of cloth he used as a blanket, he placed it on her and applied pressure.

"She's alive!" Jane shouted, rousing the other three who immediately looked in his direction. "Call an ambulance, quick!"

There was a scramble between the three as they all pulled their phones out, but Cho was the fastest. As he barked into the phone, Rigsby and Van Pelt walked towards Jane.

"She's alive?" Van Pelt whimpered, wiping her tears off her cheeks.

"She's still alive," Jane confirmed.

Rigsby offered to take over Jane, who gladly backed away to let the more experienced man do it. Leaving Lisbon to the two, he walked to his window, where the blood painted face mocked him. He clenched his hands in anger, wishing he could punch the window out to remove the smile. It was a cruel joke from his nemesis. A cruel, cruel joke.

"Paramedics and backup are on the way," Cho said, walking into the room.

"Were we just lucky to find Lisbon alive?" Van Pelt asked, voicing out the question that was on all their minds.

"No, he left her alive," Jane said angrily. "For me."

A sudden loud ring of a phone made them all jump. They all checked phones, but it wasn't coming from either of them. Rigsby put his ear closer to Lisbon and gestured at Van Pelt to search their boss's pockets. Van Pelt checked Lisbon's pants pocket and dug out a ringing phone.

"It's not her phone. Should we pick it up?" Van Pelt asked.

"Give it to me. It's Red John," Jane said, gesturing for her to pass him the phone.

"How would you know?" Rigsby asked, confused.

"Because he wanted me to find her," Jane said, taking the phone from the red head. Pressing the answer key, he put the phone to his ear.

"Hello, Patrick," a voice came from the phone.

"You bastard," Jane cursed, malice dripping in his voice.

"Did you like my gift?" Red John chuckled. "The King shouldn't sacrifice his queen while his Castle, Knight and Bishop are still in play. I gave you a chance to take back your move."

"By sacrificing your Knight."

"Ah, Gale was a needed sacrifice. He led you and Teresa here, after all."

"I will find you, you bastard, and I will kill you."

"I look forward to it, Patrick. We shall see if you catch me first, or I, you," Red John said darkly and hung up.

* * *

A/N: I'm really sorry for leaving the previous chapter like that! I could never kill Lisbon! I love her too much to do that! It's not the end yet, but it's coming to a close soon. Thanks for all the reviews/favs/follows! Thanks for reading!


	6. Wounds

**Chapter 6: Wounds**

By Alasse Fefalas

"Grace confirmed the phone we found in Lisbon's pocket belonged to Bertram," Rigsby voice came out from Jane's phone. "The CSIs are mostly done with the attic. They're currently going through the cars right now. We found a high voltage taser in the backseat of Lisbon's car. It probably was what knocked her out."

"Alright. Thanks, Rigsby," Jane said as he paced the hospital corridor.

"How's Lisbon?"

"She's not out yet," Jane answered, glancing at the white double doors bearing a "No unauthorized personnel" sign.

"Oh. Okay. Oh hey, Cho's asking if you know why Bertram was in Lisbon's car."

"Bertram called Lisbon and asked her to meet with him, but he was probably waiting for her at the carpark under the CBI. He told her to get into the car to talk, instead of going all the way to City Hall. That's when he tased her," Jane explained as he leaned against the wall.

"So he was under orders from Red John?" Cho's voice came instead of Rigsby's.

"Yes."

"And Red John killed him," Cho stated.

"Yes."

"But why...?" Rigsby asked, confused. "If he was one of Red John's men, why did he kill him?"

"As a message for me. That the end justifies the means," Jane sighed.

"A necessary sacrifice," Cho said flatly.

"Very much so. He was the bait for Lisbon, and she the bait for me," Jane said grimly, shaking his head at his stupidity.

A sound to his left caught Jane's attention. Noticing someone stepping out from behind the doors, Jane quickly told the men on the line the doctor was out and hung up. Slipping the phone back into his pocket, he walked briskly up to the white jacketed, almost running towards him. "Lisbon?" Jane asked almost frantically.

The middle aged man looked at Jane with tired eyes as his lips tugged upwards slightly. "Agent Lisbon will be fine, after getting some rest. We had to do a blood transfusion, after taking into account how much blood she lost from her wounds. However, her body seems to be accepting the blood without much difficulty. I suspect she will be up and about in about three days," the doctor said. "She's currently in intensive care, just in case anything happens."

"Thank you, doctor," Jane said, feeling incredibly relieved, as he shook hands with the man. Nodding at the doctor, Jane turned away from the door and headed to the intensive care unit.

* * *

"How long have you been sitting there?" Lisbon slurred, looking at the blonde man sitting comfortably in the single chair in the room, sipping his drink from a takeaway cup.

"About seven hours or so, give or take a few hours," Jane shrugged. He flashed her a stunning smile, his fear that she might not wake up alleviated. "The rest would be here but they were kicked out by the nurses somewhere in the fourth hour. We drew lots to see who would stay and keep watch. I won," Jane chuckled.

"Did you cheat?" Lisbon asked, slurring her words less as she started to wake up from her haze of sleep.

"Meh, technicalities," Jane shrugged.

Lisbon stared at him and shook her head. Suddenly, her eyes widened. "Jane, Bertram isn't Red John. He's working for Red John," Lisbon said in a panic.

"I know. Bertram's dead," Jane said seriously, leaning forwards in his seat. "Red John killed him."

"Oh my god," Lisbon gasped. She tried to sit up, resulting in a loud hiss of pain.

In a heartbeat, Jane was standing by Lisbon's bed, his cup discarded on the side table. "You shouldn't move around a lot. You have two major wounds and seven minor ones. Not to mention the third degree burn on your right ribcage from the taser," Jane said sympathetically.

"That was one heck of a taser, seriously," Lisbon said dryly.

Chuckling slightly, Jane looked at Lisbon. He took in her haggard appearance - her slightly dishevelled hair, the dark circles under her eyes contrasting against her white face, and her cracked pale lips. His eyes travelled lower and stopped at the light bandage around her neck. In his mind, he vividly recalled the long thin gash across her neck, not enough to kill, but deep enough to draw blood.

"I almost died," Lisbon whispered, looking away from Jane as she touched the bandage around her neck.

Jane gripped the bed railings tightly. Yes, she almost died. And it was all his fault. "It's my fault. He went after you because of me," Jane said, his voice tight.

"Jane," Lisbon started, turning back to look at the man hovering over her.

"Lisbon," Jane said firmly. "It's not because you're a cop. It's not because you're investigating him. It's because I'm closing in on him, and he's getting desperate."

Lisbon shook her head sadly but Jane saw in her eyes that she knew he was right. However much she tried to convince herself it was her fault, he knew that she knew this was all between him and the serial killer.

"We'll find him one day, Lisbon," Jane said with a quiet anger. "We'll find him."

And when I do, I'll kill him, Jane thought.

_Fin_.

* * *

A/N: And there we go! That's the end of this series! Lisbon's alive and kicking (in a manner of speaking)! Thank you for reading all the way to the end, for sticking with me (even after leaving you hanging in chapter 4) throughout! I really hope you liked it (and if you didn't, I'm sorry about that.) Thank you for all the reviews/favourites/follows!

Thank you for reading!


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